Meeting on airboat marina tonight

will be a community meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight at the Osceola County Commission Chambers on the application for a conditional use permit to operate a commercial marina from a 4.5-acre site on the west side of Cherokee Road, north of Kissimmee Park Road and east of Lake Tohopekaliga.

The name of the business, Marsh Landing Adventures, would be at 2500 Cherokee Road, St. Cloud, and would be developed for a commercial airboat tours, according to county documents. A similar request with a different applicant failed in July of 2010 for the same neighborhood.

The public can view the application documents and ask any questions of staff anytime during the meeting.

Jim Passmore, of 1495 Rivera Road, Kissimmee, is the owner of the property and the applicant for the conditional use permit.

The commission chambers is at 1 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee.

Small business workshops next week

The Osceola County Commission Tuesday and Wednesday will host free workshops to assist small businesses.

The “Moving Forward with Osceola County” English and Spanish workshops will take place at Extension Services, 1921 Kissimmee Valley Lane, Kissimmee.

The Spanish language workshop will be Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The English language workshop will be Wednesday, with registration and networking from 8 to 9 a.m., followed by the workshop from 9 a.m. to noon.

The workshops will include various key topics beneficial to both established and potential small business owners as they contemplate future business plans or strategies, county officials stated in a press release. The agenda includes presentations by various Osceola County Departments, such as:

• Procurement: rules and processes for learning about bidding opportunities and how to compete for government contracts.

• Health Department: well/ septic concerns that may affect some businesses.

• Tax Collector: business tax receipts.

• Economic Development: incentives and tax abatement.

• Community Development: permits, inspections and special events.

Other speakers and community resources include Small Business Development Center, Workforce Central Florida, Hispanic Businesses Initiative Fund, Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce and St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses interested in participating can register on the county’s website at www.osceola.org. Walk-ins are welcome.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0101.

Osceola County joblessness drops

Osceola County’s unemployment rate for April (not seasonally adjusted) was 10.8 percent, down from March’s 11.3 percent and down 1 percent, from 11.8, in April 2010, according to the latest report from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. This represents 15,282 unemployed workers out of a labor force of 140,857.

Osceola County is now ranked the 12th highest in the state for unemployment rates; Flagler County has the highest unemployment rate in Florida at 13.8 percent.

The jobless rate for the Orlando metropolitan area, which includes Lake, Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties, was 9.9 percent, down from 10.4 percent in March.

Orange County’s jobless rate was 9.8 percent; Lake County’s was 10.2 percent; and Seminole County was 9.5 percent. Polk County, Osceola County’s other neighbor that is not in the metro-area, had a 10.8 percent jobless rate.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 10.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from March’s 11.1 percent. The nationwide jobless rate for April was 8.7 percent, down from 9.2 percent in March and 9.5 percent in April 2010.

Kissimmee offices to close Monday

The city of Kissimmee will close its offices in City Hall Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

City Hall will re-open and employees will return and resume regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

KUA offices to close

Kissimmee Utility Authority’s customer service center and administrative offices will be closed in observance of Memorial Day Monday. Regular utility business hours will resume Tuesday.

Customers wishing to make a bill payment over the holiday weekend can do so through the utility’s automated telephone system at 407-933-7777, online at www.kua.com, or at any area Amscot Financial location.

KUA’s 24-hour outage number is 407-933-9898.

If power goes out, customers should notify KUA immediately.

County offices, courthouse closed for Memorial Day

In observance of Memorial Day, the Osceola County Courthouse and Osceola County Administration offices, including libraries and the Bass Road Resource Recovery Site, will be closed Monday for Memorial Day. Offices will re-open Tuesday.

For residents of unincorporated Osceola County, curbside garbage collection will continue as scheduled.

Contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100 for more information.

Toho Water Authority offices closed for holiday

Toho Water Authority’s customer service center and administrative office will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.

Regular office hours will resume Tuesday.

If you have a utility-related emergency (water leak or sewer stoppage) during holiday hours or on weekends, Kissimmee residents can call 407-944-5000. Poinciana residents with a utility-related emergency should call 1-866-866-4382.

Temporary road closure and detour on Milton Avenue

Toho Water Authority crews are working a collapsing sewer manhole and as such will be closing Milton Avenue at Carroll Street through Friday.

There are two message boards on Carroll Street, east and west of Milton, alerting motorists to the closure of Milton Avenue and directing them to follow the detour. Traffic will be detoured down either North Central Avenue to Jackson Street, or down Marina Avenue to Jackson Street. Both streets will have detour signs.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100.